The Beginning of Change
by kmhart3
Summary: I'm not very good with summary's so...here goes! LilyJames romance set in seventh year! RR Chapter 7 is up!
1. A Changed Man

*This all happened two years after Snape's Worst Memory. So, the Marauders/Lily are in their Seventh and final year at Hogwarts.*  
  
Chapter 1  
  
James Potter was sitting on a couch in front of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. He was watching his friends Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black play chess. Or at least, in Sirius' case, trying to play chess. He smiled slightly as another one of Sirius' pieces got dragged away.  
After a while, he had gotten bored of watching Remus win. He turned his head, and scanned the room for a certain redheaded girl. He found her, and as always when he saw her, his heart leapt. She was beautiful. She was sitting in the corner of the room, with her best-friend Kayla, and was reading a book. He watched her for about five minutes, before he realized that she was looking back. She smiled at him, before she turned back to her book. He still kept his gaze focused on her. That is, however, until his so called best friend had rudely interrupted his daydream with a snap in the face.  
'Look Remus! I think Prongsies found his mate!' came Sirius' voice, while Remus was left sniggering beside him.  
'Oh sod off, will you?' said James  
'James, you should just ask her out,' said Remus  
'Again!'' interjected Sirius  
James chose to ignore Sirius' reply, and said, 'I already have! About 327 times! She hates me!'  
'You've been keeping track then, eh?' asked Sirius  
Again, James chose to ignore his friend's words. He, instead, listened to Remus.  
'James, she doesn't hate you,' he said  
'Yes, she does!' said Sirius, ' Remember in 5th year? That remark about the Giant Squid..ring any bells?' James groaned at this comment in frustration.  
'Sirius, your not helping!' said Remus, 'Anyway, that was two years ago! Things change! People change! Look at you!'  
James knew his friend was right. People do change. He certainly had. But he wasn't so sure that Lily had changed her mind about him. Sure, she'd smiled at him when she caught him looking at her (which was quite often), and she had been friendly whenever they had spoken this year. But, he still didn't know if she had changed her mind about him. He hadn't asked her out for almost a year now, but his feelings were as strong as ever.  
  
A/N: and that concludes chapter 1 of my fic! Hope you like it! Please Review, and I should have the next chapter posted by the end of the week **crosses fingers** 


	2. Disappointment at Breakfast

A/N: okay. I lied! I was going to have it up by the end of the week, but I finished it after a test today in Literature. R/R please!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
*Lily's POV*  
  
The next day, Lily went down to breakfast alone, to find an owl waiting for her. She took the letter from it's beak and unfolded it.  
  
Dear Miss Evans,  
  
There is to be a Prefect's meeting held tonight in the Prefect's lounge.  
  
Do not be late!  
Proff. M. McGonogall (A/N: It's not spelled correctly is it?)  
  
P.S. Please inform Mr. Potter of the matter.  
  
Lily sighed as she pocketed the note. She began spooning food onto her plate, when she saw James walk in with Remus and Sirius. Her heart leapt when she saw him. She couldn't understand it. For six whole years, she had loathed him, and now, she liked him? It was crazy. But then again, he had changed.  
  
*James' POV*  
  
He walked into the Great Hall with Remus and Sirius for breakfast, and his eyes immediately scanned for Lily. He found him within a matter of seconds, and was shocked once again that she was looking at him too.  
James was going to sit at the complete opposite end of the table, to avoid being embarrassed or being teased by Sirius, but it looked like Remus had other plans. He went over and sat down beside Lily. Sirius sat down in front of Remus, leaving James to sit directly in front of Lily.  
'Hey Lily,' said Remus  
'Hey,' she said, 'What are you guys up to?' she asked with a smile, leaving James' heart to flutter.  
'Nothing! Can't we come over and talk to our favorite flower?' asked Sirius in a mock hurt voice.  
'I guess,' she said while laughing  
'Hey James, are you doing anything tonight? At 8:30?' asked Lily  
His heart was pounding in his chest. Had he heard her right? She wanted to know if he was doing anything anything! Tonight! At 8:30! He looked over to Remus, who was giving him an encouraging smile.  
'Umm.no.I don't think so,' he said  
'Good,' she said, ' we have a Prefect meeting to attend to,' she said. She handed him the letter, and he could feel his chest burn in disappointment. To his right, Sirius was snickering uncontrollably.  
'What's with him?' asked Lily  
'Oh nothing really, he just hasn't taken his medicine this morning.' Said Remus, giving Sirius a warning glance that shut him up very quickly.  
'Okay.' she said slowly, 'Well, I have to get to class, I'll see you guys later!'  
'Bye!' chorused the three boys  
James turned to Sirius and gave him a deathly glare.  
'Oh come on Jamsie-Poo! You have to admit, it was funny! We all believed she was going to really ask you out!' exclaimed Sirius  
'Sod it!' said James, and he walked off to his first class of the day. 


	3. Jealousy

Chapter 3 - Jealousy  
  
After Lily returned from the prefects meeting, she went up to her dorm to finish her Transfiguration essay. When she opened the door, her best friend Kayla came up to her.  
'Hey Lils,'  
'Hey,'  
'So, how was the Prefect meeting?'  
'Boring, as usual,'  
'Yeah, it must be really boring just staring at James while giving orders to the Prefects.'  
Lily blushed. She knew that Kayla knew about James. She could always tell when Lily had her eyes on someone.  
'Oh, guess what?' said Lily, changing the subject, 'In December, we're going to have a Christmas Ball!'  
'Really? No joke?' asked her friend excitedly  
'No joke,' said Lily, 'most of the meeting was planning it all out.'  
'Hmm..OH MY GOD!' she exclaimed  
'What?' asked Lily  
'I don't have a thing to wear!' Lily rolled her eyes.  
  
*****  
  
After the Prefect meeting, James walked into the common room, to find Sirius and Remus playing chess in front of the fire. Sirius was losing badly..again.  
'Hey Prongs,' said Sirius  
'Hey Padfoot,'  
'How was your meeting?' asked Remus  
'He probably doesn't even know! He was most likely staring at a certain redheaded Head Girl. Honestly.what was Dumbledore thinking? Putting a love-sick prankster in charge of the school?' said Sirius, while Remus chuckled.  
'Hardy har har,' said James sarcastically.  
'No, really Prongs, how did the meeting go?' asked Remus again.  
'Fine,' he said, 'We're having a Christmas Ball in December. That's basically all we talked about.'  
After hearing this, Sirius leapt up from where he was sitting and started for the portrait hole.  
'Hey, where are you going?' asked James and Remus.  
'To claim my girl!' he said with a grin before walking out.  
  
*****  
  
'You should ask him to go with you,' said Kayla, 'I mean everyone knows he likes you.a lot.'  
I don't think he does anymore.if he ever even really did,' said Lily, 'Usually he would be asking me out all the time. He hasn't asked me out once this year.' She said sadly  
'Rubbish!' said Kayla, ' Lil, he's in love with you! Yu can tell! He always stares at you during class like a lovesick puppy.'  
'Your just saying that to make me feel better,'  
'Yes, but it also happens to be the truth,'  
  
*****  
  
The following morning, Lily woke Kayla up, and they both went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. When she walked in, Amos Diggory came running up to her, and asked if Kayla would give them some privacy.  
Lily looked at her friend for hello. But it didn't come.  
'Sure thing,' said Kayla and she walked off to the Gryffindor table.  
'So, Lily, I heard there's gonna be a Christmas Ball this year,' said Amos  
'Umm.yeah,'  
'So, uh, you wanna go with me?'  
'Umm.thanks Amos, but I really want to keep my options open,'  
He looked a little hurt by this statement.  
'Okay, well if you decide to come with me, you know where to find me.'  
  
*****  
  
James looked up and saw Kayla and Lily walk in. Then he saw someone run up to them. Diggory. He then saw Kayla walk away. Lily looked as if she truly wished she could be anywhere else in the world at that moment. He turned away. He couldn't watch anymore.  
Someone sat down in front of him. It was Kayla.  
'Hey James,' she said  
'Hi Kayla,'  
'So, James, are you gonna ask Lily to the ball?'  
'Doesn't look like it,' he said through clenched teeth.  
'Why not?' she asked  
'Diggory,' he spat out his name as if it were the most revolting thing in the world. Which to him, he was.  
'Oh, you don't really believe she's gonna go with him, do you?'  
He shrugged moodily.  
'I know Lily.and I know she won't go with him.so, are you gonna ask her?'  
'I don't know.she'll just turn me down anyways,'  
'How do you know?'  
'Because she hates me,' he said sadly  
'She doesn't hate you,'  
At that moment, Lily came over and sat down next to Kayla.  
'So, did he ask you?' asked Kayla  
'Yes,' she sighed heavily  
'And.?'  
'I said no,' as she said this, she looked at James and they locked eyes briefly, before Lily turned away, blushing furiously.  
  
*A/N: Hey! I'm sorry it took so long to update. This chapter is a little bit longer than my others, as I've had many requests for longer chapters. I hope you like it! REVIEW!!! 


	4. Dissapointment

Disclaimer: You know the drill..I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters! If I did..I wouldn't be writing fanfictions now would I?  
  
Chapter 4 - Helping with Homework  
  
'Hey Prongs,'  
'Oh, hey Moony,'  
'What are you doing?'  
'This stupid Charms essay,'  
'Oh,' said Remus, 'having troubles?'  
'YES! It makes no absolute bloody sense!' said James, 'Say Moony, your pretty good at Charms, do you think you could help me?' he said looking hopeful.  
'No,' James' face fell.  
'Why not?'  
'Because I know someone who is even better at Charms than me, and.she just happens to be the girl you fancy!' said Remus, 'Hey, Lily!' He called.  
Lily turned around to see who had called her name. 'Yes?' she answered, while walking over to where they were sitting.  
'James needs help on his Charms homework. Do you think you could help him out a bit?'  
She smiled and said, 'Sure,' She came over and sat down in the chair beside James.  
'Well, I have to get to the library! See ya!' said Remus, winking at James.  
'So,' said Lily, 'what do you need help on?'  
'Umm.everything. I don't get any of it.'  
'Okay,' she said, 'name something that you don't get and we'll go from there.'  
'Umm.how do you move your wand for that Costello charm?' he asked.  
'Okay,' she said, while picking up her wand, 'you have to wave it in a circular motion.'  
'Like this?' he asked, making a circle in the air with his wand.  
She laughed, 'No, like this,' and she picked up her wand and demonstrated for him.  
'Oh,' he said, moving his wand again, 'like that?'  
She smiled again. 'Not quite, but almost,' she said, 'here,' she took his arm in her hand and he could feel electricity shoot up throughout his body.  
'Quidditch was good to him,' she thought, while feeling his muscles.  
'She's feeling my muscles!' he thought excitedly.  
They were both subconsciously moving closer. Their eyes locked for the longest time.  
She was so close he could feel her soft breath upon his face.  
Finally, their lips met. It was a sweet kiss, and all they were aware of was the person on the other end.  
James felt like he was in heaven. Of all the times he had dreamt about it, he had never imagined it like this. This..was wonderful.  
Lily pulled away reluctantly. She looked up into his deep brown eyes and saw love. And need.  
She bit her lip, frowning.  
'James, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let that happen.' She said.  
'Yes! You should have!' said James smiling, while caressing her cheek. 'Do you realize how long I've dreamed about that?'  
She smiled sadly at him and cupped his face with her hand. He leaned into her touch with a look of need on his face. She started to pull away when he grabbed her hand lightly and caressed his own cheek with it.  
'Go to the dance with me,' he said. It was not a question. It was a mere statement. She pulled her hand out of his grip.  
She smiled sadly again. 'I can't.I'm sorry,' She watched his expression turn from happiness to hurt, and she felt bad.  
'Why?' he asked, she could hear his voice shaking.  
She cupped his face again, and yet again, he leaned into her touch.  
'I already promised Amos that I'd go with him.'  
'But I thought you told him no!' James exclaimed.  
'I did, but he asked me again, and I didn't think that you had gotten the hint that I wanted you to ask me, so I said yes.' She said.  
'Oh,' he said, still looking hurt, 'then I guess I'll see you later.' He said miserably.  
'Yeah,' she replied in the same tone as him.  
He looked into her eyes before getting up and walking up the steps to his dormitory.  
  
A/N: Hey! Sorry it took me so long. I wasn't able to get on the internet for a long time! I won't be able to have the next one up until Jan 8 either. Sorry!  
  
Thanks to all of my reviewers!!!!!! I love you all! 


	5. Rounds of Understanding

Chapter 5-Rounds of Understanding  
  
It was 10:30, and Lily was anxiously waiting for her rounds with James. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him since the incident. She wanted to tell him that she wanted to be with him, but it would have to wait until after the ball. At 10:50, she was ready and told Kayla where she was going. She walked down the steps from the girls dormitories and saw that James was waiting for her on a couch by the fire.  
  
'Hey,' said Lily  
'Hey,' he said, looking up from the fire.  
'Are you ready?' she asked.  
'Yea, let's go.'  
  
*****  
  
They had been patrolling for about a half an hour before Lily decided that she couldn't stand the silence any longer, so she decided to bring up the kiss.  
'Umm...James?'  
'Yea?' he asked.  
'A...About the other day...,' said Lily, '...when I told you I was going to the ball with Amos,' she paused here because James made a noise, but she couldn't tell what kind of noise, so she continued, '...I really meant to say that I would rather go with you, but I had already accepted Amos' offer, and I want to be with you too, but we just have to wait until after the ball...if you still want to...that is.'  
James stopped in his tracks and looked at her with a glint of hope in his eyes.  
'You...You want to be with me?'  
'Oh, yes!' Lily nodded, 'Ever since the train ride here you've seemed....' She paused while trying to think of a word.  
'deflated?' asked James. 'Yes, deflated,' she said, while smiling. 'Lily, you don't know how happy you've made me!' he lunged forward to hug her. She moved in as well, and they clung to each other for a few minutes. 'Just remember, we can't officially be together until after the ball. Do you mind waiting?'  
'No,' said James, smiling, 'I would wait a million years for you.'  
'Really?' she asked, smiling (A/N: It seems their both doing a lot of that lately! LOL), no one had ever said anything so sweet to her before.  
'Yes,'  
She moved in, like she was going to kiss him, but backed away and smacked her forehead.  
'After the ball Lily,' she told herself out loud so that James heard, and he just laughed.  
  
A/N: I'm so sorry! I haven't been able to do much lately! Anyway, I have the next chapter done and typed, so after you review, I'll post. REVIEW!!!!  
  
--BTW-- I am starting a mailing list, and if you want to be notified when new chapters come out, e-mail me at Spheonix07@aol.com, and tell me. If you have already done that, please do it again, because I seem to have lost it. It's not necessarily just for this fic, but also for Knowing the Future, which should be posted shortly. ALSO-I will not be continuing with A Well Known Secret, because I'm reallt not that in to it. If anyone would like to finish my work, go for it, just tell me first. Though, I don't know why anyone would want to. LOL!  
  
REVIEW!!!!!!!!!  
  
P.S. Sorry about this being such a short chapter, the next one is longer, I promise! 


	6. Happiness

Chapter 6- Happiness  
  
James was really happy. He'd never known that you could ever feel this good. Lily Evans, the girl of his dreams, the girl who'd hated his guts for 6 years, and the girl who'd had a special place in his dreams for the past 3 years, wanted to be with him! He was so happy and his friends could tell too. As soon as he had gotten back from his rounds with Lily, he had told them. They were happy for him too. The only problem he was having was having to wait. Every time he saw her, he wanted to run up to her and snog her senseless.  
James was supposed to see her tonight, and he didn't know if he could get through the whole meeting without touching her. The ball was next week and as head-boy and girl, they had to finalize every little detail. Not that he was complaining.  
That night, about ten 'til eight-thirty, he started heading for the Heads Common Room. When he got there, she was already sitting at a table, writing something on a sheet of parchment. She looked up as the door closed.  
She smiled and said, 'Hey!'  
'Hey,' he said, in an equally happy voice.  
'Come here, sit down.' She said while patting the seat next to her. He sat down like he was told to.  
'I've just been making a check-list for the ball.' She said, indicating to the parchment she had been writing on. 'That way, we know what we still need to do.'  
'Yea,' he said smiling, 'that's a good idea.'  
It seemed that neither one of them could stop smiling.  
'Okay, well...it looks like we still have to decide on the decorations.'  
'Yea,' said James, 'I don't really care about them, as long as their not girly.' Shuddering at the thought.  
She laughed, 'Girly?'  
'Yea, you know...pink and fluffy.'  
'Well, I don't think you have to worry about that. I don't go for the "girly" thing either.'  
James looked at her lovingly, which made her laugh even more.  
'Don't you?' he questioned, moving closer to her.  
'No, I never really have been into that kind of stuff.' She answered.  
'Oh, and why not?'  
'I don't know...I guess I just prefer jeans to lace.' She said.  
'Ahh...,' he said.  
They were both moving closer and closer, before their lips met in a sweet, wonderful, kiss. They were pulling each other closer, not wanting to ever let go of each other.  
James emitted a low growl in the depth of his throat, making Lily smile against his lips. He pulled her up out of seat and sat her gently on his lap.  
Lily broke off the kiss and started trailing kissed on the side of his face.  
'Hmm...what about the ball?' she asked in-between kisses.  
'Screw it,' James said, while picking her up yet again and depositing her on the other side of the room, in a couch by the fire. He sat down next to her and took her in his arms again.  
'Mhmmm.....we'll just not tell Diggory okay?'  
She nodded vigorously and took his lips again into another mind- boggling kiss.  
  
A/N: There....sorry it took so long to update, but now that schools out, and I have a few other chapters already written, I should be posting at least once a week. I'll probably have chapter 7 posted either tonight or tomorrow. Another thing, I've changed my e-mail to Lilyflower1415hotmail.com, so if you saw last chapter, and you've e-mailed me, I probably didn't get it, because we no longer have aol.  
  
Thanks to all of my reviewers!  
  
Please let me know what you think of it!  
  
Kayla 


	7. The Ball

I've just realized that I haven't put in a disclaimer yet...so here goes.  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except Kayla and the plot to the story. Everything else, sadly, belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
  
Chapter 7 – The Ball  
  
Sirius, Remus, and Peter noticed that James was hardly around anymore. He was always doing something in the Head dormitories.  
'Do you think that James is really doing Head Boy stuff?' asked Sirius. He had been totally lost without his best friend with him.  
'I don't know,' said Remus, 'I wasn't this busy with my prefect duties. But...the Heads do have a lot more responsibilities.'  
'Do you think we should ask him about it?' questioned Sirius.  
They had decided to ask James what was going on, but didn't know when they would get the chance.  
  
Lily and James sat on a couch by the fire in the Head Common Room, making out. They had been meeting there everyday, so that no one would find out. James couldn't wait for the ball...after that, he'd be able to see Lily publicly.  
'Mhmmm...one more day,' whispered Lily, breaking from the kiss and smiling at him. She brushed some of his messy black hair out of his eyes.  
'I know...I'm counting down the hours.' He said as he kissed her again.  
  
Sirius and Remus had decided that they couldn't wait until they saw James again, so they were going to confront him in his common room. James had told them the password when he found out about the room. He had said that the room was really nice, too nice to not share with his best friends. When they got to the portrait of the fairy princess, they said the password and the picture swung open. They both walked in and gasped at what they saw.  
'Oh my God!' said Sirius, 'Well, now we know why he's been coming down here for the past week!'  
Remus wasn't really surprised that James and Lily were making out; he was just shocked by the fact that James hadn't told them.  
'Sirius,' said Remus, finally adjusting to the situation, 'maybe we should go.'  
'Hell no!' said Sirius, and he cleared his throat loudly, causing the couple on the couch to spring apart from each other.  
James looked irritated that someone had interrupted them, and Lily looked very embarrassed.  
Sirius was laughing hysterically. Remus rolled his eyes and spoke directly to James. 'How long has this been going on?'  
James cleared his throat, 'Umm...about a week.'  
Lily grabbed his arm and laid her head on it, making James smile down at her.  
'Why didn't you tell us?' asked Sirius, suddenly serious (AN: no pun intended).  
'I told Amos Diggory that I'd go with him, so, James and I have to wait until the ball tonight to make it official.'  
'Oh,' said Sirius, while Remus nodded understandingly.  
  
At about seven o'clock, Lily went back to her dormitory to get ready for the ball. She wore emerald green robes that made her eyes sparkle. She wore her hair up in a French twist with loose trendils framing her face with curls.  
Finally, at quarter to nine, she walked out of her dorm and down the stairs, leading to the common room.  
  
James was waiting for Lily to come down. He was going to walk her down to the ball.  
Finally, around a quarter to nine, he saw her. He felt his breath catch in his throat. She was beautiful.  
'I have to be the luckiest guy in the world.' He thought.  
She smiled at him when she saw him, and he smiled back.  
'Shall we go to the ball my fair lady?' he asked, as she stopped at his feet.  
'We shall,' she said, taking his arm.  
  
When they got down to the Great Hall, James asked her, 'Are you sure you'll be alright?'  
She smiled at him and said, 'I'll be fine, though I wish I could be with you. Oh, there's Amos...I have to go...have a good time.'  
'Yeah, you too,' he said miserably. (A/N: okay...I don't really want to go into detail with the ball, because it's boring and we already know that they danced! LOL)  
At about eleven-thirty, Amos led Lily to the garden path and sat her down by the fountain. Lily noticed that he looked really nervous.  
'Lily?' he asked.  
'Yes?' she asked as he took her hands in his.  
'I've liked you for sometime now.' He said.  
'Oh?' said Lily  
'Yes...and I was wondering if you would be my girlfriend?'  
'Oh....Amos...I'm really sorry, but I don't like you in that way.'  
'Oh,' he said, looking very hurt, 'well, will you just be my date for this evening?'  
Lily smiled and said, 'Yes,'  
They walked back into the castle and they danced most of the night.  
  
A/N: It's a bit longer, like I promised. I'll have the next chapter posted sometime next week. R/R!!! 


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